Although the Major League Soccer SuperDraft is being held today, the process of drafting players
for next season started weeks ago for the Crew.

On Dec. 13, the Crew signed former Akron midfielder Wil Trapp to a homegrown-player contract.
Four weeks later, it signed former Akron defender Chad Barson to another homegrown contract. By
bringing in two players otherwise projected as first-round draft picks, the Crew front office
already views the draft as a success — regardless of what happens today in Indianapolis.

“It’s not going to be like that every year, but this is what the player-development system is
all about,” Crew president and general manager Mark McCullers said. “I absolutely look at it in
that context. When I look at our draft class at the end of (the) week, I’m going to have Barson and
Trapp included in those names.”

MLS allows teams to sign players who have trained in their academy systems without exposing them
to the draft.

“They would have been high draft picks,” said Andrew Arthurs, senior vice president for soccer
business development and executive director of Crew Juniors. “Certainly in the case of Wil, but
with Chad, as well. He by all accounts would have been a first-rounder.”

Both players could compete for starting spots this season. Barson could be a beneficiary of a
depleted depth chart on defense.

“Our roster is not chock-full of defenders,” technical director Brian Bliss said. “We’re going
to add some guys there, but Chad is one guy we’ve added who can play defense and play on the right
side and play right-side central defender.”

What direction the Crew might take today remains a mystery.The club has the ninth and 28th
overall picks and particularly needs defenders and reserve forwards, although the latter need is
more likely to also be addressed via trade or signing. The Crew’s top two options behind forwards
Jairo Arrieta and Federico Higuain are Aaron Schoenfeld and Aaron Horton, who have a combined three
years and 10 games of experience.

In addition, the Crew is still waiting on paperwork for two pending international players, one
of whom is known to be a defender. Should either deal come to fruition before the draft, it would
likely alter the Crew’s strategy.

Three analysts for MLSSoccer.com have the Crew selecting a forward with the ninth pick. Notre
Dame’s Ryan Finley, Santa Clara’s Erik Hurtado and Virginia Commonwealth’s Jason Johnson are all
listed as possibilities. TopDrawerSoccer.com has the Crew selecting Central Florida forward Deshorn
Brown. Brown is a Generation adidas player, meaning his salary would not count against the salary
cap and he would receive educational grants to continue his education.

All three MLS analysts have the Crew taking a defender in the second round.

The Crew also will consider trading one or more of its picks and is thought to be deep in trade
talks with several teams.

Of the 21 Crew players under contract who will report for preseason training this week, seven
were acquired via the draft and five were homegrown-player signings. In all, 11 of the Crew’s
current players entered the league via the draft.